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8/8-8/10 - AllStars at NPPL, NJ
8/14-8/17 - AllStars at PSP, Philadelphia PA
9/6 - West Point Big Game, West Point NY
9/13 - ISU Open, Crete IL
9/20 - West Point Open, West Point, NY
10/4 - MICT X, Purdue University, IN
10/11 - CIA Open, Culinary Institute of America, NY
10/18 - NLIC III, Baldwin, WI
11/1 - GPIC III, Lincoln, NE
11/8 - Dynamic Games Open, Winder, GA
11/15 - NEIC IX, NY
11/15 - SCCC, Slidell, LA
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How do I get college students to play at my field?
Want to get clubs going in your area to bring students to your field? Use this flyer! (right click if it doesn't download for oyu automatically.)
- Why do I want to attract college clubs?
- Comment from Steve and Mary Borchers, owners of Timber Games in Decatur IL
- So you've sold me, what do I do now?
- My field wants to host an NCPA tournament. What do I do?
NCPA Member Field Benefits
- Listing in the NCPA Friendly Fields List
- NCPA help getting new clubs established at colleges local to you to bring you More Customers!
- Links from our link page for fields who link back to us.
- Preference for NCPA regional and national tournaments
- Preference for intercollegiate big rec games and scenario games
- Referrals to groups from local colleges and universities
NCPA Member Field Costs
A minimum of either $10 off rental/field fee or 10% off paint for college club groups and NCPA student members. That's it. You never give the NCPA anything.How do I get college students to play at my field?
Virtually all college paintball clubs/teams operate on a two-tier system, maintaining both a large group of recreational players as well as a smaller group of more dedicated tournament players. What a college club does is bridge the gap between what the college player wants and the field wants.
A college is basically a group of 1,000-40,000 17-23 year old students who tend to be single, have disposable incomes, and be on the path to a well-paying (read larger disposable income) job. Most college students have heard of paintball, but also have very little information on what it's like. These players want information about the sport and an easy and inexpensive way to participate.
A field, of course, wants more players. Unfortunately, the best a field can hope to do to attract the many potential players from the local colleges is distribute advertising - what they can't do is provide the organization that a club can. A paintball club recruits the players for you. They provide informational meetings so newbies can ask questions and get them answered. They take care of all the organization, so players don't have to bother with making reservations with the field, figuring out where fields are, or even knowing how to get there - all they have to do is tell their club they're coming and show up. The club tells them what to bring, what to wear, when to be there and when they'll get back. Most importantly, the club provides students with a group. Players are much more likely to make the trek to a field if they know they're going to be going with a bunch of other students, and are much more likely to come back if they feel like they belong to an organization. College clubs sell club T-shirts, have regular meetings, give out membership cards, etc.
The only remaining hurdle for players is the cost. All a college club is looking for from a field in exchange for a regular group of players is a discount on fees. This makes it easier for them to attract players, and while you may not make as much money off of a college student that comes out with the group, you'll have 10-100 players showing up per month that you wouldn't have had otherwise, so you're basically getting something for nothing.
In addition, college paintball clubs frequently have the opportunity to set up outings for other groups at the college interested in paintball but don't know how to go about it - dorm floors, fraternities, churches, and other student groups. Not only can your club bring this business to you, they can also provide experienced "chaperons" to accompany the group, help them out, and help you ref.
Those players that come out to play with their college club would most likely never have played otherwise. They're more likely to come out again, more likely to bring their friends to you field, and more likely to invest in their own equipment - which, if you have one, they're more likely to get from your store.
What does this cost you? Nothing other than a price break for the college club - so you may not make as much on each player the club brings you, but you'll be making a lot more money with all of the extra regular players. Clubs with a tournament team will be looking for a place to practice, but all they need is the use of your field in the off hours, and they can provide you with refs for your own tournaments or players to scrimmage for your own team. Remember, a college team isn't just another amateur team with their hands out; they're a team with an army of recball players to bring to you.
From Steve and Mary Borchers
Timber Games Paintball in Decatur, IL is proud to have an association with local and regional college groups. They clearly love the sport and show it through their great sportsmanship and their professional attitudes.As a field owner, I take pleasure in the fact that many groups organize the players ahead of time with waivers, rules and knowledge of the game, how much it costs, etc.
We are always happy to have these groups come out as it is both rewarding financially and helps define paintball as a fun, enjoyable sport!
Steve and Mary Borchers
Ok, you've sold me, so what do I do?
Well, firstly, the NCPA maintains a list of fields that will give discounts to students with NCPA membership cards. Requirements for inclusion in this list are a minimum of either free rental, free field fee, or 10% off paint - but the more you offer, the more likely you are to attract college players. In addition, we also maintain a list of college clubs that you can check to find clubs in your area. Lastly, if you notice you have college players who come to your field regularly, you can point them to us and we'll help them get a club set up at their school. NCPA member fields also have preference for hosting NCPA regional and national events as well as intercollegiate recreational and scenario games. You never have to pay the NCPA anything to be an NCPA member field; you just need to pass on a little savings to the college players in exchange for the extra business they'll bring you. We're an all volunteer non-profit organization bent on helping the advancement of college paintball, you give a little, you get back a lot, we're just here to help things grow.My field wants to hold an NCPA tournament, what do I do?
There are currently two levels of NCPA tournaments, regionals and nationals. Specific requirements for each regional event vary by region and you should contact the regional contact for your region, but will be fairly close to national requirements. The NCPA is currently taking bids from fields interested in hosting our national tournament in the Spring or possibly summer of 2002.A field wishing to host the national tournament *MUST* meet the following requirements:
- Your field must have two speedball fields, or enough land and netting to erect two airball fields.
- You must staff a minimum of 12 qualified field referees (6 per field) and two chrono judges for the duration of the tournament. You must also be able to provide two radar chronographs. 8 referees per field and a third chronograph for use by players are preferred.
- You must have an insurance policy that covers a paintball tournament at your location.
- You must honor the NCPA's award of free entry to the first place team from each regional event in Fall 2001 and Spring 2002. (Currently 8 events)
- You must provide trophies for 1st through 4th place.
- You must make space at your field available for booths and tables to be erected by any other sponsor of the NCPA or the NCPA National Tournament.
- You must allow, if required, any reasonable efforts to tape and/or televise the event. You will be entitled to a small portion of the revenues from any telivision contract until participants are reimbursed for their costs and a large portion of any remaining revenue.
- You must make your location available to any designated NCPA representative for viewing during reasonable hours, and additionally available for viewing by any player the day before the event for a minimum four hour period not to end before 7 PM, and additionally, if required, make your location available for any event setup required the week prior to the event.
- You must guarantee the prices submitted in your bid; however, you may rescind or modify any bid you make up until the point your bid is accepted. You may not, unless included in your bid, charge additional fees to sponsors, participants, NCPA event hosts, or other entities associated with the tournament, for any service normally associated with their participation in a paintball tournament; including, but not limited to, parking, compressed air, space for tables and/or booths, or any charge not normally paid by recreational players at your field. (So feel free to sell food, but please don't at the last minute decide to charge everyone $10 to park their car or demand sponsors pay you $100 to set up their table.) Admission for spectators may be charged, provided a portion of that admission, agreed upon by the NCPA and the field in advance, goes to refunding the fees of the participating teams.
The NCPA also has a vested interest in the success of this tournament, and will:
- Take care of all advertising and publicity for the tournament and include your field name, location and contact information in all advertising distributed.
- Permanently list your field in our field directory and in any publication of the results from the tournament, including location and contact information.
- Create and maintain a website with relevant information for the tournament.
- Attract sponsors to reduce the costs and increase the prize package for the tournament to the best of the NCPA's ability.
- Stay in constant contact with you to work to make sure this tournament is as successful as possible.
In addition to the requirements above, consideration of bids will also be based on such qualities and abilities as:
- Proximity to a major airport and the relative costs of flying into and out of that airport as well as transportation to and from the field location.
- Proximity of affordable lodging.
- Total cost to the participating teams.
- Geographic location.
In your bid, please provide the following information:
- The name, phone number (and hours generally available) and email address of the person we should contact in regards to your bid.
- The price, per 5-man team, you wish to charge.
- The price, per case, you wish to charge for paint. Please include case size, brand, type, and your distributor. Please break down the cost between cost to you and markup; there is a good chance we can get your distributor to sell you paint for the tournament for less and would like to pass that savings onto the players. We can also obtain paint from our own sponsors at costs significantly below typical wholesale. Please let us know if you have any sort of agreement with your distributor which prevents you from selling any particular brand(s) of paint at your field.
- Your field's address.
- Your field's website, if it has one.
- Any other information that separates your field from other fields.
Ok, now that we've got all that out of the way, basically, just drop me (Chris Raehl (raehl311@yahoo.com)) an email covering the basic issues above, tell us why your field is the field we should have our tournament at, let me know anything we can do to make having a tournament there easier for you, and feel free ask us any questions you need answers to. College paintball has been getting a LOT of both in and out of industry attention (Two APG articles in the past 12 months) and hosting the national tournament is a great way to get your field on the map. Just for a guideline, the per-team price for the 2001 national tournament was $65/team and $45/case with sponsor support. We're tremendously flexible on how things end up being done. Please keep in mind that college tournaments are TREMENDOUSLY easy to host, mainly because college players are tremendously amicable. Any other questions or comments, please email me. Thank you for your interest.
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